Jacksonville 19-year-old lives on through organ donation

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Ryan Weir’s loved ones say at only 19 years old, he was the kind of person who would help anyone.

“Ryan was full of life, full of energy and enthusiasm and charisma,” his mom, Kimberly Weir, said.

She says he was driving on I-295 with bad tires in the rain June 19 when he crashed.

He had multiple head fractures. Doctors put him into a coma to help him heal.

“After a certain time, the doctors told us there was nothing more they could do, and that’s when we made the decision to follow his wishes and donate his organs,” Kimberly Weir said.

Hundreds of people gathered in the hall of the hospital right before his organ donation.

“People from all over came to honor him and be with us. That was the most difficult walk I have ever made,” his mom said.

The support didn't stop there. A rainbow of socks filled Maple Street Biscuit Company on Monday in Murray Hill. It was a colorful way to honor Weir, at a place he loved to work.

In the first few hours, more than 100 people came out to support his family.

Weir’s mom says support from the community has helped her on her hardest days.

His co-workers say losing him also taught them that life can be gone in an instant.

“It woke a lot of us up that went to school with him, that was just kind of like – it’s a real thing, it can happen,” his co-worker, Parker Turbeville, said. “It can be people in our lives.”

A portion of the proceeds from Monday’s silly sock day will go toward Weir’s family.

Cox Media Group